Producer
Morandé was founded in 1996 by Pablo Morandé, and found immediate recognition both domestically and abroad. Morandé are true pioneers –they were the first family to develop the Casablanca D.O., recognising the fantastic potential of this cool-climate wine region. They also led the way in reviving old viticultural regions such as Maule and Itata, working with old dry-farmed bush vines and unconventional varieties such as Carignan, País and Cinsault. All of the wines are produced with grapes from Morandé’s own vineyards. Their winemaking philosophy is guided by seeking the right terroir for each grape variety, and with significant vineyard holdings they are well placed to achieve this.
Vineyard
The grapes come from the Romeral estate in Maipo. The soils are clay and loam with poor fertility and the vineyards are planted at a high density (10,100 plants/ha). Yields are limited to one kilo per vine to ensure the grapes have a concentrated aroma and flavour.
Winery
The grapes were crushed and given 5 days’ cold maceration, then fermented at 23-25oC with twice daily pumpovers and another 16 days on skins before going through natural malolactic fermentation. The wine was aged in older French oak barrels for ten months before blending and bottling.
